Wolf Tamer
by brokenwriting
Summary: What if our beloved characters of Cirque du Freak were werewolves? Much more chaos would ensue. (NOTE: Not everything is the same, and some characters and plot elements are inserted/taken out to make things more interesting. MAJOR spoilers will occur throughout this fic.)
1. The Book of Wolves

My name is Darren Shan. I've always had a weird obsession with spiders. My best friend, Steve, is a bit different; his thing is werewolves. In this story, our obsessions get us into loads of trouble.

Now, let's begin.

It all started in the library.

I was browsing the shelves, looking for something to read. Steve stood behind me, probably making faces. I loved to read, especially mythology and stuff about cryptids. Steve hated it, but would sometimes read comics.

"Hurry up," he whined. "I'm bored."

I sighed, looking at the last few books on the shelf, when I noticed a peculiar book. It looked like it was bound in leather. I grabbed it, and noticed a large paw print on the front. Opening it, I scanned the first page. It read:

'Wolves are not to be taken lightly. Their bite is deadly, and hunting as a pack is fearsome. I warn you to never copy anything this book describes.

Long ago, a man walked alone. He was hunting for a lone wolf that had killed his wife and stole his only child. Suddenly, the dire wolf burst from the undergrowth and dug its fangs deep into his arm. It was infected with an unknown disease that caused the man to turn into one of the beasts, which allowed him to-'

"Hey!" Steve punched my arm.

"Ouch!" I grumbled. "I was just checking this out. It's about werewolves. Do you think we should-"

Steve immediately snatched the book from my hands and examined the front. "Of course! I don't have a card, you get it."

I stuck my tongue out at him as I took the book back. "You should get one."

"Maybe later."

When I talked to the librarian, she told me that the book can't leave the library.

"Why not?" I asked.

"It's too big, and it's very valuable. We prefer to not take any risks." she answered.

I walked back to Steve, still holding the book.

"She said we can't take it home."

"Too bad. Put it in your backpack." Steve said.

I scrunched up my nose. "Steal it?"

"If you're too scared, I have a plan." Steve took the book and put it back on the shelf. "Find another one, and check it out. I'll hang out here and take it once you leave. That way you won't get into trouble."

I nodded, and did as he said. I waited for him to catch up. Steve always had plans like that, but we never got into trouble. He always got out of it, or never got caught.

Steve and I talked about the book on our way to his house.

"D'you think it says about how they kill?" Steve asked.

"The part I read only talked about how they were made." I responded, adjusting my backpack. "Some guy was bit by a wolf, but it describes it weirdly- a 'dire' wolf, I think it said."

"A _dire_ wolf?" Steve stopped and stared at me. "Those are extinct!"

"Woah," I breathed. "So werewolves must be very, very old."

"Duh," Steve said, lightly smacking the back of my head. "They were just like wolves, but super-sized. They were around sometime after the dinosaurs, along with saber tooth cats n' stuff."

"Cool," I said and began to walk again. "It mentioned that the wolf was infected with a disease that caused him to turn into one."

Steve nodded. "That's what werewolves are, dummy."

I grinned at him, and shoved him lightly. He pretended to be hurt, then began chasing me. We laughed the entire way home.


	2. Steve's Flyer

When we got to Steve's house, his mom wasn't there. She was probably still working. Steve's mom was single, and needed to work a lot so they could get food and stuff. It must be hard for Steve, and his mom.

Steve swung his backpack onto his bed and took out the book. He handed it to me and told me to read it to me, since I could read better.

I sat down on the bed and opened the book to the first page, and began to read. I read the warning and Steve scoffed.

"Long ago, a man walked alone. He was hunting for a lone wolf that had killed his wife and stole his only child. Suddenly, the dire wolf burst from the undergrowth and dug its fangs deep into his arm. It was infected with an unknown disease that caused the man to turn into one of the beasts, which allowed him to have powers that exceeded anyone else.

He returned to his home, and attacked his people. They were all infected with the disease, and when they had returned to man's form, they formed a pack. This became known as the Pack of Wolf Children. It may exist still to this day-"

"What?!" Steve grabbed the book.

"Will you quit doing that?" I said.

He looked at me, excited. "That means that there are still werewolves today! Oh, that reminds me." He pulled a flyer from under his bed. "This is a flyer for a carnival coming to town." He gave it to me, and I scanned it.

'Evra, the snake boy! Rhamus Twobellies, the man who can eat anything! The Wolf Man! The Bearded Lady! Vur Horston, his incredible spider, Madame Octa, and his talented wolf pups!'

"Wolf Man?" I questioned, looking at Steve. "Do they mean a werewolf?"

"I don't know. But I can easily get tickets." Steve shrugged. "How much money can you spare?"

"I get my allowance tomorrow, combined with what I have..." I counted on my fingers. "Twenty dollars."

"That's not enough." He frowned. "I can steal money from mom- hey, I'll get it back to her- and we might have enough, for both of us."

"What about Tommy and Allan?" I asked.

"They won't be interested. I'm in it for the possibility of a real, live werewolf, and you for the spider." Steve responded, scanning the flyer again. "I'll get the tickets tonight. It's at ten o'clock on Friday. We'll sneak out- ask your mom if you can spend the night."

"Okay." I didn't like where this was going, but Steve always had a cover for things that were illegal or wrong.

We spent the rest of the afternoon talking and reading the book on werewolves. I got to take it home, too. It was interesting- it described the history of werewolves, and their frequent troubles with vampires. If there's a possibility werewolves are real, then vampires must be, too. It was right up my alley. I love cryptids, even if it is silly, like Bigfoot and the Loch Ness Monster. Still, I really hope we don't get into trouble, because if my parents find out I snuck out, they would kill me- figuratively, of course. Hopefully.

Little did I know that this would be the last time I would ever see my family.


End file.
